10-Year-Old ATIQA MIR Becomes First Indian Backed by F1 Academy Program

September 5, 2025

by Radhika Bhirani // from www.hindustantimes.com

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At just 10 years old, ATIQA MIR has broken new ground as the first Indian driver to receive direct backing from Formula 1 through their F1 Academy’s Discover Your Drive Program. She’s one of only three drivers worldwide in the mini category (ages 8-11) selected for this prestigious program, which provides both technical and financial support. The Dubai-based racer, who proudly carries her Indian heritage from Jammu and Kashmir, has already proven herself at karting championships around the globe.
While facing bullying on track for being a girl, MIR has developed her own approach to handling the male-dominated motorsport environment. Her strategy? “I try to focus on myself and not others. That way I concentrate on my driving more than thinking if people will bully me or not.” With racing literally in her DNA – her father Asif Nazir Mir was a former Formula Asia driver and India’s first National Karting Champion – she’s been collecting toy cars instead of dolls since childhood and is now mentored by Narain Karthikeyan, India’s first F1 driver.
MIR has set ambitious goals that would make motorsport history: reaching Formula 4 within the next few years and Formula 1 within a decade – something no woman has achieved in decades. Her dream track? Belgium’s legendary Spa-Francorchamps. With Max Verstappen as her idol alongside her father, she’s determined to be a role model for upcoming Indian sportswomen and prove that “we are no less than anyone in the world.”